‘…and in recognition of your willingness and helpfulness towards members of the club we’d like to welcome you, Dinky-Doo, to the Cutie Mark Crusaders!’
Dinky couldn’t help fidgeting with excitement, trying to hold in a squee of joy as SweetieBelle carefully tied the red and gold-trimmed cape around her shoulders.
‘Ohmygoshohmygosh!’ she spluttered breathlessly, barely able to contain her delight, ‘Thank you so much you guys!!!’
‘Well ya’ll earned it!’ said Applebloom, giving an encouraging smile, ‘ya’ll helped us so much these last few days, and you don’t have a cutie mark either, so it totally makes sense that you’d fit in with us.’
‘Yeah, we definitely needed someone smart like you in our group!’ added Scootaloo who was hopping about with glee behind Dinky, flapping her wings to stay airborne. Dinky held out her fore-hooves to admire the swish of the cloth, along with the Cutie Mark Crusaders logo sewn inexpertly onto it to match the other fillies.
‘I’ll do my best! I won’t let you guys down, I promise!’
On the far side of the room Dinky’s mother Ditzy-Doo laid a plate of warm muffins on the coffee table alongside the teapot, and glanced over her shoulder at the fillies playing on the floor. She smiled; finally her dearest Muffin had nice fillies of her own age to play with. These little ones who liked her for all her good points and who didn’t judge her just because she had a ‘weird’ mum. Yessir, these fillies were definitely something special…